2008 Beijing Games bronze medalist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (4-0 MMA, 2-0 SF) needed just 39 seconds to claim victory at Strikeforce Challengers 20 on Friday night in Las Vegas. The talented judoka now has set her sights on new challenges and is planning a drop down to 135 pounds in 2012.

Rousey faced Muay Thai standout Julia “The Jewel” Budd (2-2 MMA, 2-2 SF) in the co-main event of Friday’s card. True to form, she closed the distance right away and took Budd down before moving straight to mount. From there, the finish was academic. Rousey spun into an armbar that appeared to badly dislocate Budd’s right elbow. Budd initially held on but was forced to tap out at the 39-second mark of the opening round.

After the brief bout, Rousey stated that she would be dropping down from 145 pounds to compete in the bantamweight division. While her goal is to challenge current Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha “Takedown” Tate, Rousey also expressed an interest in facing top contender Sarah Kaufman.

Some female fighters have taken exception to Rousey’s comments, as well as the amount of attention that she has received after only four pro MMA fights and seven overall. However, her goal of bringing more attention to female MMA fights and fighters appears to be working and she has quickly become one of the most talked about female fighters in the sport.

The total elapsed time of Rousey’s four pro fights in 2011 was just two minutes and 18 seconds.

Aguilar misses weight, avenges first pro loss at Bellator 58

Jessica “Jag” Aguilar (12-4 MMA, 3-1 BFC) uncharacteristically missed weight for her Bellator 58 rematch with Lisa Ellis-Ward (14-7 MMA, 2-2 BFC) on Saturday night, but she managed to avenge the first professional defeat of her career. Aguilar outstruck Ellis-Ward en route to a unanimous decision victory after three rounds. She has won seven of her past eight fights.

The opening round was contested entirely on the feet where Aguilar repeatedly scored with right hooks and seemed to be one step ahead of Ellis-Ward. Aguilar sent her opponent off-balance with a left hook later in the round, but Ellis-Ward came back strong in the final minute with a big left hand of her own and knees before the bell.

More punches were exchanged in the second round and Ellis-Ward fell after throwing a knee. Aguilar took advantage on the ground and threatened with a brabo choke. While the submission was unsuccessful, she also landed knees and punched from the top. The final round saw both fighters land kicks and punches during the opening three minutes. Ellis-Ward backed Aguilar up with front kicks and a flurry of punches, but a bloodied Aguilar took her down before the final bell.

The cageside judges awarded all three rounds to Aguilar, who campaigned for a fight with Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii in Bellator next year. Both Aguilar and Fujii suffered contentious split-decision losses to Bellator’s 115-pound women’s champion Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel in the promotion’s season three women’s tournament in 2010.

Top prospect Ashley Cummins wins XFL women’s title

One of MMA’s top female prospects, Ashley “Smashley” Cummins (1-0), captured the Xtreme Fighting League 115-pound women’s championship on Friday night at “XFL: Xtreme Fight Night 5″ in Tulsa, Okla. Cummins, who went 8-0 as an amateur, submitted Chelsea “The Italian Princess” Colarelli (6-4) with a rear-naked choke at the 1:41 mark of round five.

Cummins and Colarelli engaged in a back-and-forth battle through the first four rounds and both threatened with numerous submission attempts on the ground. Cummins attempted a rear-naked choke in round one and a triangle in the second stanza, but Colarelli was game and countered with punches from top position.

In rounds three and four, the fighters switched roles and it was Colarelli who tried for chokes from the bottom as Cummins unleashed some ground and pound. The fight remained very even heading into the final round, but Cummins ensured that it did not go to the judges’ scorecards. She took Colarelli down and moved to mount, then locked on the fight-ending rear-naked choke after Colarelli gave up her back.

Both fighters received cheers from the crowd after the spirited title fight.

“Foxy” wins third straight, retains Bushido championship

Russian striker Yana “Foxy” Kunitskaya (5-1) successfully defended her Bushido women’s title on Saturday night at “Bushido Hero’s: World Grand Prix Lithuania” in Vilnius, Lithuania. Kunitskaya stopped hometown favorite Arune Lauzeckaite (0-2) with a barrage of punches at the 1:35 mark of the first round.

Lauzeckaite scored with a nice left hook to open the fight. It only seemed to anger Kunitskaya, who responded with a spinning back fist and a takedown. She moved straight to mount and teed off with dozens of punches from the top until the fight was finally waved off.

Still best known for her quick victory over Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois in December, Kunitskaya has now won three fights in a row since tasting defeat for the first time. All five of her victories have ended by knockout or submission.

Julianna Pena, Michelle Waterson return after lengthy layoffs

Unbeaten prospect Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Pena (2-0) returns after a two-year injury hiatus to face Canadian Rachael Swatez (4-2) at “Conquest of the Cage” on Dec. 15. The bout takes place just outside Pena’s hometown of Spokane, Wash.

Pena has been on the sidelines after suffering a torn ACL and meniscus in her knee. She underwent surgery, but re-injured the knee in 2010 and was unable to resume training until earlier this year. Pena trains with the SikJitsu fight team alongside Lyle Beerbohm and Cody McKenzie and drops down to 125 pounds for the fight. She has earned stoppage victories in both of her pro bouts.

All four of Swatez’s wins have also come inside the distance and she has never been finished. The B.C. native submitted Wendy Roy at Battlefield Fight League 12 in March.

On Jan. 21, 2012, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (8-3) steps back into the cage for the first time since April 2010 when she faces Diana “Dynamite” Rael (3-1). The bout takes place at Jackson’s MMA Series 7 and is expected to be contested at 105 pounds.

The popular Waterson rose to fame after appearances on the “Fight Girls” and “Bully Beatdown” television shows and she has found considerable success in MMA since transitioning from Muay Thai. Waterson gave birth to daughter Araya in March of this year and got back into training in the summer.

Waterson has won six of her past seven fights. In 2010, she submitted Rosary Califano with a flying armbar in just 15 seconds and stopped Japanese veteran Masako Yoshida with first-round punches two months later. The win over Yoshida was one of Waterson’s most impressive to date. Rael also enters the bout with momentum on her side. She picked up a decision victory over the previously unbeaten Angelica Chavez in August and has a solid ground game to go along with her striking skills.

Two women’s bouts highlight Wednesday’s NAAFS event in Ohio

North American Allied Fight Series 125-pound women’s champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly (12-2) makes the first defense of her title Wednesday night at “NAAFS: Night of Champions 2011″ in Canton, Ohio. Daly faces Kelly Warren (3-0), who trains at Jackson’s MMA.

Also on the card, Jessica “Evil” Eye (4-1), whom Daly submitted in June, returns to NAAFS to face Jennifer “Superstar” Scott (2-1). Eye, one of the most popular fighters in Ohio and a top star in NAAFS, was victorious in her Bellator debut in September and has eyes on a rematch with Daly in the future. The NAAFS card features a total of seven title fights and may stream online, though the promotion has yet to make a formal announcement.

Quick results

Kyoko Kimura (1-0) defeated Megumi Yabushita (19-19) by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round one at “Pancrase Impressive Tour 11″ on Nov. 12 in Tokyo. Kimura, a pro wrestler famous for competing in violent “deathmatches” in Japan, initiated a challenge to Yabushita for the fight and did not disappoint in her MMA debut. She countered a Yabushita takedown and landed punches from back control for much of the first round. The bout was stopped due to an injury to Yabushita’s ankle and Kimura stated that she would be back in the Pancrase ring soon.

Katie Merrill (1-0) defeated fellow Massachusetts native Kaline Medeiros (0-2) by submission (armbar) at 1:40 of round two at “Victory Promotions 1: Clementi vs. Rogers” on Nov. 12 in Lowell, Mass. The fighters exchanged punches for much of an entertaining opening round and Merrill struck from side control after escaping a guillotine choke. In round two, she countered another guillotine choke and took Medeiros down. Medeiros tried to stand and Merrill locked on the armbar for an impressive victory in her pro debut.

Tandi “Tandilion” Schaeffer (2-0) defeated late replacement Amanda “Red Fox” LaVoy (2-5) by unanimous decision at “Showdown Fights: Evolution” on Nov. 18 in Orem, Utah. LaVoy stepped into the bout on short notice, but her participation came into question as she remains under an indefinite suspension pending a hearing in Oklahoma. Schaeffer picked up her second victory for Showdown Fights with the convincing win.

Angela Hayes (6-6) defeated Trisha Clark (1-5) by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:10 of round one at “No Mercy Extreme Fighting: Annihilation 36″ on Nov. 18 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Hayes secured a standing guillotine choke early on and landed knees. Clark tried to counter with a takedown, but Hayes tightened the choke and Clark was forced to submit. Hayes has now won five of her past six fights.

Hatice Ozyurt (1-0) defeated Lena Buytendijk (0-2) by unanimous decision at “Battle Under The Tower” on Nov. 19 in Steenwijk, The Netherlands. Ozyurt made her MMA debut in the fight after a successful kickboxing career. She was able to score a mild upset over the more experienced Buytendijk, who also holds a strong background in striking.

Jasminka “Holy Terror” Cive (4-0) defeated Lilla Vincze (0-2) by TKO in round two at “Cage Fight Series 6″ on Nov. 20 in Graz, Austria. Cive previously defeated Vincze in similar fashion in May. All four of Cive’s fights have ended in stoppage victories.

Upcoming fights

Hanna Sillen (4-1) faces Katrina “The Cat” Teer (0-0) at “K-1: Rumble of the Kings 6″ on Nov. 26 in Stockholm, Sweden. Sillen was blitzed by rising star Sheila Gaff in just eight seconds in February, but rebounded with a decision victory in May. Teer makes her pro debut in the fight after competing five times as an amateur in 2011.
Jeri “Fists of Fury” Sitzes (3-1) faces fellow kickboxer Jessica “Bam Bam” Bartness (0-0) at “Midwest Ultimate Cage Fights: Titans Rumble” on Nov. 26 in Branson, Mo. Sitzes has remained active in Muay Thai bouts, but has not competed in MMA since a Sept. 2009 victory over Lacie “The Ladie” Schuckman in Strikeforce. Bartness makes me MMA debut in the fight.

Kayo Nagayasu (7-6-3) faces “Happy” Fukuko Hamada (7-6) in a rematch at “Pancrase Impressive Tour 12″ on Nov. 27 in Osaka, Japan. Nagayasu earned a narrow majority decision victory over Hamada in the pair’s first fight in 2009. She fought Naoko Omuro to a draw in her Pancrase debut in September. Hamada has won both of her fights in the Pancrase ring since her loss to Nagayasu.

Carla Esparza (5-2) faces Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig (5-3) at “Xtreme Fighting Championships 15: Tribute” on Dec. 2 in Tampa, Fla. Esparza is coming off of a razor-thin decision loss to Jessica Aguilar in June, but had won two straight prior to the setback. The two-time All-American wrestler makes her XFC debut against Herrig, a talented kickboxer who has won five of her past six fights. Herrig has found a new home at 115 pounds and was impressive in victory when she defeated Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc in May. This event airs live on HDNet.

(Pictured: Ronda Rousey)

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every other Monday. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

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